I recently attended a USCIS interview for adjustment of status in the Santa Ana office. Our clients were a married couple. The wife’s son was born in the United States and turned 21 years old in Spring. Although the wife entered the US illegally in the early 90s, she was 245i eligible based on a visa petition filed by a relative prior to April 1, 2001; therefore, she was able to adjust status to permanent resident without leaving the United States.

The husband married the wife when the stepson was still young enough; therefore, he was able to adjust status based on his US citizen stepson reaching 21 years of age. The husband entered the country legally so he was not required to pay the 245i penalty fee; he was eligible to adjust status through a concurrent visa petition/adjustment of status filing.

At the interview, the officer was very thorough and asked many questions about the couple’s marriage to make sure they didn’t marry solely for immigration purposes (i.e. so the husband could benefit from the stepson’s US citizen status). We provided ample evidence showing the couple had been together for almost 15 years including photos, tax returns, mortgage payment history, banking history, life insurance and car insurance. The interview lasted almost an hour, but both cases were approved by the end.

The couple was very happy with the result. They have been waiting to legalize their status for decades and now they have a path to citizenship. They plan to visit family in Mexico that they have not seen in over 15 years. If you have a close relative that is a US citizen or permanent resident and are curious about whether they can help you become a permanent resident, contact Nelson & Nuñez to schedule a consultation. John Nelson and Jay Nuñez will listen to your story and explain how the immigration laws apply to you.